Suspended Aviaries for Scarlet Honeyeater

[Ripley]

Hello All,

It is evident that my proposal is scoffed at & as someone has said that it would be 'cruelty ' to the birds....This was not my intention, to be thought of as cruel..
I will forget my idea, and alas, give up on my goal of getting Scarlet's...
I do not condone cruelty to anything or anyone & I'm now questioning my beliefs in keeping birds. I came back into birds because I thought that it would make me a better person....I now wonder?

Ripley

[Craig52]

Hello All,

It is evident that my proposal is scoffed at & as someone has said that it would be 'cruelty ' to the birds....This was not my intention, to be thought of as cruel..
I will forget my idea, and alas, give up on my goal of getting Scarlet's...
I do not condone cruelty to anything or anyone & I'm now questioning my beliefs in keeping birds. I came back into birds because I thought that it would make me a better person....I now wonder?

Ripley

Chris,don't put yourself down like that,you asked a simple question(suspended aviaries for scarlet honey eaters) in which you asked for thoughts from others.
The majority had constructive criticism of what they thought,so you can take it or leave it and do what you want to do with that in mind.If you do want to go about it,keep it to yourself and don't give out too much information you never know it might work for you and then you can come back and stick it up the knockers.
We don't want to loose you because someone said you are cruel,i've had people say nasty things to me here as well but you have to suck it up and get on with what YOU want to do and say. Cheer up Craig

[finchbreeder]

Ripley/Chris - speaking as someone who has never kept softbills. I think the fact that you intend/ed to rotate flowering shrubs through the avairys throughout the year shows a distinct lack of cruelty, and in fact consideration for the birds. Maybe your avairy type idea is good, maybe it is bad. We all have to occassionally adapt our preferences for our circustances. e.g. Do things differently or give up on a preference. You and only you can decide which you choose to do. Whichever way you go good luck with it. Do not give up on birds, you obviously are a person who will try to find a way in difficult circumstances. And history shows that birds have been saved by just that sort of determination. Read the history of bird keeping in Britain during the world wars. The ball is now in your court. And I want to hear in the future how you succeeded with whichever birds you decide to keep.
LML

[desertbirds]

Hello All,

It is evident that my proposal is scoffed at & as someone has said that it would be 'cruelty ' to the birds....This was not my intention, to be thought of as cruel..
I will forget my idea, and alas, give up on my goal of getting Scarlet's...
I do not condone cruelty to anything or anyone & I'm now questioning my beliefs in keeping birds. I came back into birds because I thought that it would make me a better person....I now wonder?

Ripley

As long as you understand the birds behavior and can make the adjustments if it doesn`t work then i have no problem with what you are wanting to do, after all its only my opinion and im no expert. I dont think anyone means to scoff or suggest you are wanting to be cruel. Apologies if my comments offend in any way and dont give up your long term goals.

[Tiaris]

I mentioned the cruelty word but certainly didn't intend it to be a personal criticism in any way. I don't wish to burst your bubble for wishing to tackle a challenging species in an unconventional manner either. Nor do I have any captive experience with Scarlet Honeyeaters. I was simply pointing out the overwheming thrust of advice from those who are experienced with the species clearly indicates that the species is inherently unsuited to long-term housing in a small enclosure and based on their experience the birds welfare is clearly compromised by this. I may have been blunt in the words I chose & I apologise if I offended. That certainly wasn't my intention. I simply didn't expect a self labelled trail blazer to be quite so sensitive.

[vettepilot_6]

I am posting this as a person who had suspended aviaries....this is my view you can take what you want about it...I built a bank of suspendeds and after a couple years successful breeding of finches and neophemas I came to the conclusion I did not feel at one with them...although feeding, cleaning, safety of the birds was excellant, I still felt unknown to them (they would fly to the other end and stay there)....so when I moved I went back to conventional aviaries as I could once again sit and watch outside or inside the aviary and once again they would fly all around me, which always gives me pleasure ....Good Luck in whatever you think is right

[garymc]

Whilst the regulations over hear in sunny WA prevent us having the Scarlet Honeyeaters, I do keep Western Spinebills. In watching this species in the wild and the aviary I have noticed that they do regularly fossick for insects both in the brush and on the ground (amongst the leaf litter).

Ever thought of converted your "greenhouse" into an aviary/greenhouse (assuming this is where you keep your bonsai)?